Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Windows Crash! Crash! Crash!

(Click on the image to see a larger view)

The above George comic strip was inspired by my own past, personal use of Windows. It was also inspired by an online forum discussion I was having with a few other Linux users. This comic is the inspiration for today's blog entry.

Windows crashes. Sooner or later, while using a Windows system, you're going to experience a crash. You may be launching an application, or plugging in a thumb drive, or surfing the web. Regardless, trust me when I say, "Windows is going to crash."

Why does this happen? Why the heck does Windows crash so often? The simplest explanation is because Windows is so tightly integrated. Applications are closely intertwined to the operating system. When an application crashes, the whole system crashes. The screen goes blank and you have to reboot.

Linux is built much better than Windows. Linux is built on layers, so to speak. The core OS is a layer independent of the GUI layer which is separate from the application (another layer of sorts) being run. If an application crashes, the rest of the system is intact. It remains up and running. All you need do is simply restart the application and not the entire Operating System.

In addition, unlike Windows, when a new application is installed in Linux, no reboot is needed. This is also true of installing new hardware. Again, these independent layers are the reason why a reboot is not needed.

Linux, and the way it's been designed, is simply more stable than Windows.

So don't worry. If an application crashes in Linux, it's not a major problem. It's just a simple restart of the app. You won't have to reboot the entire system. And you won't have to call a teenager to get your system up and running again.

By the way, the above George comic strip was scanned in two pieces using Xsane. I then used Gimp to stitch the pieces together. I cropped and re-sized for print publication. Lastly, I used used Gimp to add the color.